Community Pharmacists’ Recommendations in Handling a Self-Medication Request for Bloody Diarrhea: A Survey in an Indonesian Urban Setting

Abstract

Diarrhea is one of the medical problems frequently found in the community. Pharmacists should determine the conditions treatable with over-the-counter medications and those that need urgent referral to a doctor, such as bloody diarrhea. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the appropriateness of the pharmacists' recommendations when responding to self-medication requests in the case of adult bloody diarrhea. This cross-sectional study was conducted from October to December 2019 using a questionnaire consisting of participants' characteristics and newly developed acute bloody diarrhea scenarios in adults. The quality and content of the questionnaire was validated by the experts in clinical pharmacy, public health, and pharmacists. The data obtained from 84 pharmacists with the response rate of 38.71% were analyzed descriptively. About 89.29 % of the pharmacists were female between 24 to 34 years. Referral to a doctor was the most suitable recommendation; however, only 23 pharmacists (34.52%) recommended this method. Some recommended antibiotics, such as metronidazole, cotrimoxazole, or thiamphenicol. Most pharmacists have not provided appropriate recommendations for a scenario related to bloody diarrhea in adults. Therefore, further research should be conducted to identify the required variables by the community pharmacists to make an appropriate recommendation as a response towards minor ailments in the community, especially medical referrals.